Difference in grain quality/brand?

[mtbiker278]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to get some feedback if anyone else had exerpienced this.

I bought some Canadian West 2-row through a group buy a couple months ago. Previously I sourced all my grain from the LHBS which primarily used Briess grains. I've been noticing in my BIAB mashes that I've been yielding lower efficieny than before ending up with 68-73% instead of my previous 78-83%. Granted I know it's not a huge difference but it makes an impact on my final volume.

Looking at the Canadian grain I notice a lot of empty husks mixed in with the grain. But I figured that more grains have at least some of this mixed in.

The question is has anyone else noticed differences in their efficiency when they've used another brands of grain?

 

[Wayne1]

There will be a fair amount of difference in the flavor as well as the yield depending on the exact variety of barley and which maltster does the malting.

In my experience, the Canadian malts have a lower yield, lower cost and "cleaner" taste. The American malts are similar to Canadian but a couple of the malsters do try to emulate some of the UK flavors. The yield is a bit better than most of the Canadian maltstesr I have tried.

The UK grains seem to be plumper, and giving a higher OG for the same amount of base malt. They also have a bit more flavor. The different malt houses do deliver different flavor. Pay attention to whose malt it is you are using so you can replicate your recipe. There are at least four different maltsters offering Marris Otter barley. Each one is a bit different.

The European grown barley is not as plump as UK but it does have more favor than US or Canadian barley, in my opinion. There are quite a few different malt houses in Belgian, Germany and France that offer unique malts and flavors.

The barley kernels are all different sizes dependent on what variety. Your mill settings should be adjusted for each different malster's product to get maximum efficiency.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Goes to show you cannot trust the Canadians.

 

[mtbiker278]

Interesting. I'm not going to knock on the Canadian malt jus yet. I was able to get it for ~$30/25kg bag. I haven't reached the point where I think the base malts are going to impact my flavor much (lots of darker ales), and the minor offset in mash efficiency is covered by the cheapness.

I'm wondering if I should just assume that the Canadian 2-row has lower potential gravity points per pound (say 35 instead of 37) and adjust my efficiency that way. I haven't brewed a wheat beer yet but something tells me my efficiency would go back up if I did.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Wayne1]

Did you get a malt analysis sheet for the grain you purchased?

Every batch run through the malt house has one of these. Every batch is a bit different. With this information you should be able to better estimate what your yield should be.

Understanding Malt Analysis Sheets

 

[mtbiker278]

I tried looking for one but i didn't get one with the grain. Totally forgot to write down the lot number on the grain bags too. Oh well, maybe I'll try to find one online to just give me a better idea for the canadian west grain.